On the evening of March 27, a suicide explosion killed over 70 and wounded over 300 people during Catholic Easter celebrations in a public park in Lahore. There were no Russian citizens among the victims. A faction of the Pakistani Taliban, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, has claimed responsibility for the explosion.

We express our sincere condolences to the victims’ families and friends and wish a speedy recovery to the wounded.

We firmly denounce this barbaric terrorist attack, which has no justification. We hope the organisers of this attack will be quickly identified and severely punished.

We are convinced that this tragedy will only strengthen the Pakistani authorities’ intention to continue the uncompromising struggle against terrorism and religious extremism. For our part, we will continue to provide any assistance we can to the Pakistan Government’s fight against terrorism.